GOP gloats over Obamacare delay

As the Obama administration announced a one-year delay in the employer mandate, leading Republican lawmakers and political strategists painted the decision as an admission of the law’s failures – and a blatant attempt to shield Democrats during the 2014 elections.

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POLITICO Junkies: Obamacare delay fallout

“Delaying the employer mandate is a clear admission by the Administration that the health care law is unaffordable, unworkable and unpopular,” Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) said in a statement. “It’s also a cynical political ploy to delay the coming train wreck associated with Obamacare until after the 2014 elections.”

The administration defended the delay as an effort to provide flexibility to the business community, but it’s bringing negative attention to the law just as the White House and its health care allies launch a major campaign to sell Obamacare to the public. Enrollment in the exchanges starts in October.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who this week received a Democratic opponent in his 2014 reelection effort, used the delay to again call for “repeal and replace.”

“Obamacare costs too much and it isn’t working the way the administration promised,” McConnell said in a statement.

House Speaker John Boehner also called for repeal and replace, rehashing Democratic Sen. Max Baucus’s “train wreck” comment. Baucus – who helped write the law - earlier this year said he was worried that implementation would be a “train wreck” – a line that his GOP colleagues immediately picked up and amplified.

“This announcement means even the Obama administration knows the ‘train wreck’ will only get worse,” Boehner said. “I hope the administration recognizes the need to release American families from the mandates of this law as well. This is a clear acknowledgment that the law is unworkable, and it underscores the need to repeal the law and replace it with effective, patient-centered reforms.”

Meanwhile, the chairman of the powerful House Committee on Oversight and Government reform questioned whether the White House even has the legal authority to put off the penalty.

“It is unclear that [President Barack Obama] has the authority to do this without Congress,” Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) said in a statement. “This is another in a string of extra legal actions taken by his Administration to mask the horrible impact his law will have on the economy and health care in the United States.”

As opponents beat up the delay Tuesday night, Democrats were left to defend the White House move as a commitment to providing flexibility on implementation of the massive health care overhaul.

“It is better to do this right than fast,” said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s spokesman, Adam Jentleson.

Sen. Mark Begich of Alaska, a moderate Democrat up for reelection next year, applauded the delay and even tried to take some credit for the move, saying he told the White House in May that businesses needed more information on the law.

“I’m pleased the administration is listening to me and the many businesses that are concerned about the complexity of the new requirements,” Begich said in a statement. “Small business owners across this state keep telling me they need more information, time and simplicity to implement this law. I will keep asking the tough questions so the law is implemented as it was designed – to save families money and ensure that every American has access to good health care.”